This page is one
of the annex pages of www.understandfrance.org, the foremost
site on Franco-American intercultural differences. It contains
documents, facts and figures illustrating the content of some
of its pages.

Facts
& figures

This page contains
Facts and Figures about France and the French. Some are significant,
other less so....

According
to a recent study (IHT Dec.24 2002, OECD 1999), the breakdown
of foreign population between the four major EU countries
is as follows (* indicates more than 10% of the annual inflows)
: (but these figures do not include the children of foreigners,
if born in France : according to French law, they have French
citizenship)

millions

Turkey

Yugosl.

Italy

Portug.

Morocco

Ireland

Algeria

Greece

India

EastEur

USA

Poland

Albania

Philip.

France

0,2

0,2

0,6

0,5 *

0,5 *

Germany

2,1

0,7 *

0,6

0,4

0,3

UK

0,1

0,4

0,2

0,1

0,1 *

Italy

0,1 *

0,2 *

0,1

0,1 *

0,1

The total number of foreigners
in the 25 countries of Europe in 2002 (source : Eurostat 2003)
in million (* means : more than 5% of total population and **
: more than 10%):

Science : in terms of % of articles published,
United-Kingdom (8,1%) and Germany (6,9%) are ahead of France
(5,2%) in the world hit parade of scientific publications ; only
in mathematics, does France do better (8%) than the other
European countries (source : Observatoire des Sciences et
des Techniques, 2002), because of the importance of math
in French education. French mathematicians are very successful
with the Fields Medal (the equivalent for Mathematics of the
Nobel Prize) and in 2003 Jean Pierre Serre was awarded the first
Abel Prize (the new Nobel Prize for maths). In terms of Research
& Development, France is behind USA (around 3%) and Nordic
countries for % of GNP in R&D (Source : OECD 2002)

Swd

Flnd

Germ

Frnce

Dnm

Neth

Belg

UK

Aust

Irlnd

Ital

Spain

Portg

Grec

USA

Japn

Cand

Kor

Total % R&D

3,65

3,40

2,51

2,18

2,10

2,02

1,96

1,88

1,84

1,20

1,04

0,94

0,75

0,67

?

of which: private

2,47

2,39

1,68

1,18

1,22

1,00

1,30

0,91

0,73

0,77

0,45

0,47

0,16

0,16

?

% of GNP to higher education

1,7

1,7

1,0

1,1

1,0

0,9

1,2

0,9

2,7

1,1

2,6

2,6

Strikes : with only 0,9% of the French workforce,
SNCF, the French train operator, represents 20% of the number
of strike days every year... ; many strikes include street
demonstrations and The Economist (Nov.2002) published
a funny statistic on officially registered demonstrations in
Paris in 2001 : out of a total of 10,050, 7,458 had a festive
cause, 1,461 were for better pay, job security, etc..., 800 purely
political and 331 for celebrity visits ! More
about strikes and labour unions...

More to come....

Europe : writes J.Rifkin : "While the
american Spirit is tiring and languishing in the past, a new
European Dream is being born. That dream emphasizes community
relationships over individual autonomy, cultural diversity over
assimilation, quality of life over the accumulation of wealth,
sustainable development over unlimited material growth, deep
play over unrelenting toil, universal human rights and the rights
of nature over property rights, and global cooperation over the
unilateral exercise of power."

Bibliography
: Every year, a book
called Francoscopie-Comment vivent les Français
(Larousse, Paris), by Gérard Mermet gives thousands of
updated figures on France and the French.

How many Americans live in France ?This
is a frequently asked question and the answer varies between
100,000 and 200,00 depending on the source and the definition
(with or without government staff and army).A recently published (2003)
map gives the following figures of the largest (private sector
only) US communities among the 4,1 million American citizens
living abroad (Source : AARO
The Association of Americans Residents Overseas, AAWE Asssociation
of American Wives of Europeans, ACA American
Citizens Abroad, FAWCO
Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas Inc., EBA European
Benefits Administrators) :

1

Mexico

1 036 300

7

Philippines

105 000

13

China

65 167

19

Belgium

35 328

2

Canada

687 700

8

Australia

102 800

14

Ireland

46 984

20

Colombia

30 680

3

UK

224 000

9

France

101 750

15

Brazil

40 640

21

Argentina

27 600

4

Germany

210 880

10

Spain

94 513

16

Poland

39 300

22

Venezuela

25 000

5

Israel

184 195

11

Greece

72 500

17

Taiwan

38 000

23

Netherlands

23 707

6

Italy

168 967

12

Japan

70 350

18

Saudi Arabia

35 989

24

Costa Rica

19 800

(conversely)
The French abroad.... (Source
: Maison des Français à l'Etranger 2004) With more
than 2 million expatriates, France has proportionally more than
twice more expats than the USA.

USA

281 978

Germany

158 281

Spain

124 978

Algeria

70 964

UK

201 562

Belgium

154 069

Israel

87 916

Biggest growth rates : China (16%),
Russia (8%), Ireland (8%),...

Switzerland

191 074

Canada

138 364

Italy

74 797

What is
the best destination for leading a good life ?The country
the most frequently named as their land of opportunity, as an
answer to the question "Suppose a young person who wanted
to leave this country asked you to recommend where to go to lead
a good life, what country would you recommend ?" (Source
: Pew Research Center, in I.H.T. June 24, 2005)

"How desirable is it that
the US exert strong leadership in world affairs ?"
Poll for the German Marshall Fund (International Herald Tribune
Sept.4, 2003).

"undesirable"

% in 2002

%in 2003

France

48

70

Europe

31

49

Germany

27

50

Italy

33

50

Portugal

n/a

44

Netherlands

23

41

Britain

25

38

Poland

22

34

"Do you think that the USA plays a positive role
in the world for..."
(Poll July 2004, Figaro Magazine)

France

USA

... the progress of democracy
and the rights of Man

42%

76%

... reducing international
tensions

27%

57%

... finding a solution
to the Israelo - Palestinian conflict

24%

61%

...finding a solution in
Iraq

22%

59%

"Do
you think the war with Iraq has made the world safer or more
dangerous ? (Poll, July 2005, Pew Research Center, I.H.T.
June 24, 2005)

safer

more dangerous

France

23%

70%

Spain

13%

68%

Jordan

26%

66%

Netherl.

31%

62%

Lebanon

16%

59%

Turkey

14%

59%

Germany

28%

58%

China

9%

56%

Canada

37%

53%

Pakistan

9%

53%

Indonesia

13%

53%

Russia

17%

49%

Poland

27%

48%

Britain

39%

47%

USA

49%

40%

India

45%

26%

Public Aid for Development (Source : OECD 2001 & OECD1999) :
in spite of slight fluctuations (exchange rates, data year),
there is no doubt that all other developed countries spend significantly
more in public aid than the USA....